The Best Payroll Software – Top 10 Compared for 2023

The best payroll software will allow you to manage all employee compensation from one place across salaries, health benefits, and freelance wages. This software makes managing compensation easier by providing time trackers and reports and paying federal taxes for you. With a reliable payroll solution, you can stay abreast of compliance so you don’t end up paying penalties.

With so many online payroll services around, choosing the perfect one can be a challenge. That’s why we’ve found and reviewed the 10 best payroll software solutions for you based on criteria like affordability, ease of use, and customer support. Read on to find out why payroll providers like Rippiing, Paychex, and Deel are among the best in the business.

The 10 Best Payroll Management Systems Ranked

Here’s a shortlist of our chosen HR payroll software that’ll give you an idea of the strengths and key offerings of each product:

1. Rippling — Overall, the best payroll software, with a 100% error-free guarantee. Best-in-class automation will allow you to devote your time to growing your business, and its seamless data synchronization will extract relevant information and save time.
2. Paychex — Offers a team of 200+ compliance experts who are always on top of changing regulations, meaning you’ll never make a payroll or tax mistake again. You can even provide early employee access to payslips, promoting transparency.
3. Deel — Ideal payroll software for businesses working with international clients or wanting to manage employee onboarding, offboarding, benefits, taxes, payslips, and government declarations. It also simplifies local taxes and supports payments in 150+ currencies with 10+ payment methods.
4. ADP — Popular payroll software that’s best known for its Wisely Direct product, a prepaid account that allows your employees early access to their paychecks and rewards them with cashback on shopping using Wisely.
5. OnPay — One of the few payroll software products that optimizes your package based on your industry and business size. It also offers free migration handled by experts – and having 30+ years of experience is a definite advantage.
6. Sage — Highly recommended for its two payroll models, one helmed by its in-house experts and one powered by ADP. It also has the best dashboard in the industry, which gives your employees transparency and plenty of control.
7. Gusto — Fantastic payroll software that doubles up as your health insurance broker, helping you find the best benefits for your employees. It also comes with a unique Time Kiosk feature that helps with clocking in and out.
8. QuickBooks — Made for beginners, and comes with a free, guided setup where an expert will walk you through the software. There’s also a tax penalty protection program that will compensate you for any penalties due to software errors.
9. Remote — Best free payroll package in the industry. Along with standard payroll and expense management tools, you’ll be able to manage payroll for your international employees with ease.
10. SurePayroll — Great small business payroll software with a 100% service guarantee on offer. The ability to run thorough background checks before hiring employees is a cherry on top.

Why Evеry Businеss Nееds Payroll Softwarе

Payroll software has become an indispensable tool for businesses of all sizes and in all industries. It offers many benefits that streamline payroll processes and contribute to overall business efficiency and success. Here are several reasons why every business needs payroll software:

• Simple Expense Management: Payroll software simplifies expense management by automating payroll-related tasks, such as calculating salaries, deductions, and taxes. This reduces the chances of errors and helps businesses maintain accurate records of expenses.
• Accuracy and Precision: Payroll software uses predefined rules and formulas to accurately calculate salaries, deductions, and taxes. This reduces disputes between employees and employers over incorrect payments and helps build trust within the organization.
• Quick Results: With payroll software, you can generate payroll reports and paychecks within minutes, rather than the hours or days it might take with manual calculations. This quick turnaround time ensures employees are paid on time and helps maintain morale.
• Data Security: Payroll data contains sensitive information, including employee personal and financial details. Payroll software often includes robust security features to protect this, such as encryption, user access controls, and secure backups. This ensures compliance with data protection regulations and safeguards against breaches.
• Timely Reminders: Payroll software often includes reminder features to help businesses comply with tax deadlines, employee benefit contributions, and other financial obligations. These reminders prevent costly penalties and fines for missed deadlines.
• Saves Time: Manual payroll processing can be time-consuming, especially for businesses with a large workforce. Payroll software automates many of these tasks, saving HR and finance teams valuable time that can be better spent on strategic activities.

What Features Do Payroll Tools Offer Businesses?

Payroll tools offer many features that are designed to simplify the complex task of payroll management and ensure compliance with tax and labor regulations. Here are some key features that payroll tools typically offer businesses:

• Tax Filing Service: Many payroll processing companies provide integrated tax filing services, which automate the process of calculating, withholding, and remitting payroll taxes to government agencies. This feature helps businesses avoid costly tax penalties and ensures compliance with tax regulations.
• Direct Deposit: Payroll tools often allow businesses to offer direct deposits for their employees. This feature enables employees to receive their salaries directly to their bank accounts, eliminating the need for paper checks and reducing administrative overheads.
• Payslip Generation: Payroll tools generate electronic payslips for employees, detailing their earnings, deductions, and tax withholdings. This provides transparency to employees and serves as a crucial document for record-keeping and compliance purposes.
• Automation: Automation is a fundamental feature of payroll tools. It streamlines repetitive tasks, such as calculating salaries, deductions, and taxes, reducing the chance of errors and saving time for HR and finance teams.
• Processing Management: Payroll tools allow businesses to manage payroll processing efficiently by defining pay schedules, handling bonuses and commissions, and accommodating various pay structures, such as salaried and freelance. They can also account for overtime, leave, and other factors affecting compensation.
• Payroll Reports: Payroll tools generate reports that provide insights into labor costs, tax liabilities, and employee compensation — these reports are essential for financial planning, budgeting, and compliance reporting.
• Employee Self-Service: Many payroll companies offer self-service portals for employees, allowing them to access their pay stubs, tax documents, and other payroll-related information. This reduces the administrative burden on HR departments and empowers employees to manage their own payroll-related tasks.

The Market’s Top-Rated Payroll Services Compared

This table highlights the key differences between the top 10 payroll software products that appear on our shortlist so you can make a quick but informed comparison:

The 10 Best Payroll Management Systems Reviewed 

Eager to get your hands on the best payroll processing software? Read on as we’ll now discuss each of our top picks in detail, including their best features, pros and cons, and pricing. Let’s dive in.

1. Rippling — Overall, the Best Payroll Software, with a 100% Error-Free Guarantee

Rippling has a 100% error-free guarantee, which means that once your employee’s data is in their system, they’ll get paid accurately and on time according to your payment cycle.

You don’t even have to manually enter their salaries each month – while filling out your employee’s HR profile, you can enter their hourly wage. Rippling’s payroll tool syncs with the HR data and then automatically extracts the information and calculates their wage.

As the employer, it’s your responsibility to take care of your team’s taxes. But thankfully, Rippling takes this cumbersome task off your plate. It automatically calculates the payroll taxes for each employee and files them with the right federal or local agency. And the best part is that a lot of this happens automatically.

Employee withholdings directly flow into payroll, sparing you the trouble of entering the amounts manually, and the right tax forms are filled and submitted automatically.

If you want more control over your team’s taxes, you can create custom codes to apply specific tax rules. You can also add multiple types of earnings on a single paycheck and add custom rules to them — each section of salary will be taxed accordingly. Since Rippling covers all general tax laws, this feature is for those who have some very specific tax needs.

If you have an international workforce, you’ll be pleased to know Rippling offers proficient global payroll services. Using this, you can pay everyone in their local currency in less than five days, whereas many other solutions take 15 to 30 days.

It also helps you localize your work culture and offer benefits like pensions, meal coupons, and 401(k) plans that specifically appeal to employees in particular countries.

2. Paychex — Best Software for Payroll Compliance with 200+ Experts

Paychex is the ideal payroll solution for businesses that don’t want to spend resources on the legalities of payroll. Each country has a separate set of employee rights and laws. To help you deal with this, Paychex has recruited a team of 200+ compliance experts.

They keep an eye on changing rules and regulations so you never make a mistake while paying your employees. For instance, if the government increases the minimum wage, these compliance experts will notify you and ensure your payouts are compliant.

It’s also one of the few payroll platforms that provides additional support for your employees to reach their financial goals. This feature is offered in collaboration with Finfit — a financial wellness benefit platform. It equips your employees with budgeting tools, finance management training, and access to short-term loans.

Paychex also helps you keep the process transparent with your employees. Through the Paychex Preview and Approval system, you can give your team access to their paycheck details before the payday. This way, they’ll know what to expect, and there won’t be any discrepancies post-payment.

Other standard features include multiple payment options, easy data export for your accounting software, and a garnishment payment service, letting you automatically deduct part of the wages for the benefit of a third party. It usually happens when your employee is legally bound to pay child support or if they have debt.

3. Deel — Popular Payroll Software for Managing Different Types of Employees

Deel helps you manage multiple types of employees. If you run a big business with multiple hubs, you probably have more than just regular, full-time employees. You might have contractors as well as immigrant workers, for example, where the laws surrounding payment types differ. In this case, Deel is your best bet.

It has a separate plan for managing contractors where you can automate expense tracking and invoice approvals. Unlike employees who get paid every month, contractors usually get paid in bulk. With Deel, you can make bulk payments in 150 different currencies using 10+ payment methods.

Popular payment methods supported by Deel include PayPal, Payoneer, Binance, Coinbase, and others. If you’re not a fan of online payment, you can also opt for bank transfers.

Deel has a team of local experts who’ll help you manage international workers and local employee laws and take care of taxes and employee benefits on your behalf.

Here’s an extra tip — if you plan to move your employees to a different location, choose the immigration plan with support on visa application sponsorship to get help from local immigration experts.

In case you want more support from their internal team, opt for its Global Payroll plan. With this, Deel takes care of everything for your employees, including onboarding, offboarding, payroll, benefits, taxes, payslips, and government declarations.

If your employees work on an hourly basis, you’ll also appreciate its built-in time-off management feature. It’ll notify you when an employee submits a time-off request and keep a record of all the requests so you can pay them accordingly.

4. ADP — Payroll Processing Software with Early Wage Access

ADP has one of the most substantial sets of payroll features we’ve seen. The basic benefits of its payroll packages include direct deposit, robust reporting, assistance with tax filing, payroll delivery, and more.

Multi-jurisdictional payroll, meanwhile, means you can manage employees in multiple states or countries, just like with Deel.

ADP also provides you with a Wisely Direct account – a prepaid account that can be used to direct payroll deposits. However, the real benefit of setting up a Wisely account for employees is Early Wage Access (EWA).

EWA is a practice under which employees can access their salaries as and when they earn them instead of waiting for a traditional payday. Here, the salaries accrue for every hour they work, and the employees can access a portion of this in their myWisely app.

Employers don’t need to make any adjustments — they can run their payroll, and Wisely will reconcile all the data.

We love ADP’s unique “Early Direct Deposit” feature, under which your employees can get access to their salary up to two days before the actual payday. This can be a great relief for those living from paycheck to paycheck and will certainly boost your team’s morale.

If you want to pay via check, you’ll be happy to know that ADP takes extreme security precautions when handling them. Every check is put in a sealed envelope and protected by ADP’s anti-fraud protocols.

To top it off, ADP’s payroll packages offer more than just payroll support. You also get access to many HR tools that help you welcome new employees, run background checks on them, and track their performance. Some marketing and consulting services are also available, and the rest can be included as add-ons.

5. OnPay — Versatile Payroll Processor with Sector-Based Solutions

OnPay is one of the few payroll services that can optimize your payroll model for the sector you’re in. The options include:

• Restaurants and bars
• Doctors and healthcare
• Farms and agriculture
• Gyms and fitness clubs
• Non-profit organizations
• Dentists

It doesn’t stop at the industry type, as OnPay understands that different sizes of businesses have different payroll requirements. That’s why it offers separate optimization for start-ups, chain businesses, and medium-sized businesses.

Let’s take an example to understand how these optimizations work. Restaurants and bars, for example, have a very different payment model. Each server/bartender gets a base salary and tips, while the cooks and other employees in the back usually get paid a base salary only.

But if you want to pool tips so that everyone gets a fair share, here’s how OnPay can help: first, it will calculate the hours of your employees through a time tracking device (since restaurant workers usually get hourly wages).

Then, based on the instructions you enter, it’ll calculate the overtime wages plus the tips each employee made in the given number of hours. Finally, it’ll sum up the total wage, and all you have to do is approve it before payday.

You can run multiple payrolls in a month and create multiple pay rates and schedules for each department. After all, the salary you pay your new starters won’t be anywhere near the salary you pay your senior employees.

OnDay has 30 years of experience in the industry, so you can sit back and relax because it offers a guarantee on all its calculations, assuring that all your taxes and salaries will go out error-free and on time.

Getting started with OnPay is super easy because they offer free migration, which is handled by their experts. The first month is free, and their stellar customer support team will have your back so that you can sail through every quarter without hiccups.

6. Sage — Easiest Payroll Software to Use, with an Intuitive Dashboard 

Sage has two payroll models — one that is helmed by its in-house experts called Sage HRMS and one that is powered by ADP called Sage Intacct. If you want to choose their in-house option, you’ll also get a ton of HR solutions.

The payroll solution there is labeled as “Process Payroll.” Here, you’ll also find a payroll calculator where you can adjust parameters like variable pay, payment frequency, and overtime pay to calculate what’s due to each employee.

Under this tab, you’ll also have access to your team’s online timecard and time and labor report, where you can check their performance and hours, both of which are important to compensate your employees fairly.

The payroll solution offered by ADP has similar benefits, barring a few subtle differences. For instance, on both plans, your employees can manage their benefits.

But only on Sage Intacct can they access a complete breakdown of their benefits, such as medical, dental, 401(k), and so on, and see the status of their invoice, i.e., how many invoices have been successfully processed and how many are still pending.

One thing we loved about Sage Intacct is its seamless integration with Sage HR and Sage Accounting. These systems share information seamlessly, so you don’t have to enter or re-enter the same data for payroll purposes.

Sage manages to stand out with its robust, feature-packed dashboard that gives your employees more control and helps you maintain more transparency with them.

On both plans, your employees get their own portal where they can access their payment details such as current salary, pay history, and pay stub. The more access they have, the less you’ll be bothered by trivial queries from your team.

7. Gusto — Offers a Unique Time Kiosk for Accurate Time Tracking

Employee compensation isn’t just about the money you pay them. Health benefits are also a huge part of payroll management. This is where Gusto stands out from others on our list. Gusto acts as your broker and helps you find the right health plan for your employees.

It offers HSAs, disability insurance, life insurance, and more. Plus, the cost of this service is already included in your payroll plan; no extra cost is required.

If you want to keep your existing broker, you can bring them onboard to work together at just $6/employee/monthly. They’ll have access to your Gusto dashboard and can manage the benefit claims from within.

Gusto is a perfect solution if you have hired workers with time-based pay. Tracking the time actually worked by employees can be a hassle. But with Gusto’s seamless integration, it becomes a breeze.

Employees can record their time in and time out and request leave or PTO — all of which will be automatically synced with the payroll module. However, this feature is only available from the “Plus” plan onwards.

Gusto also has a unique Time Kiosk feature that lets you convert any device to a central station for your employees to clock in and out. Once you’ve set up the kiosk on, say, a tablet, your employees just have to select their name from the main dashboard, enter their PIN, and click “clock in” or “clock out.”

This tracked time is then automatically synced with the payroll function, which will help you calculate the total employee payments due. This feature is included in the Premium plan, or you can get this added to your Plus plan for $4/user/month.

Gusto also lets you run payrolls an unlimited number of times per month. Not once or twice but as many times as you wish to pay your employees at no extra cost.

Also, usually, it takes 2 to 4 days for the payroll to run. This means if you approve the payroll today, your employees can expect to receive their wages in the next four days. However, certain eligible businesses on Gusto get a Next-Day direct deposit.

Under this, you can run the payroll a day before the payday, and your employees can still expect to get paid on time. If you’re too busy and forget to run the payroll, this feature is your savior.

8. QuickBooks — Best HR and Payroll Software for Beginners

QuickBooks is the ideal payroll software for beginners. If this is your first time using online payroll software, you might need some help setting it up. Thankfully, Quickbooks comes with a free-guided setup on every plan.

You’ll have an in-house expert walk you through the process and also share some tips to help you make the most out of the platform. It’s also the cheapest payroll software on our list among those that have transparent pricing – qualifying it as the best cheap payroll software we’ve seen.

QuickBooks has a unique tax penalty protection program under which it’ll compensate users for any tax penalties and interest up to $25,000 in a year arising due to an error on QuickBooks’s part.

You’ll need to send a copy of your payroll tax notice to QuickBooks within 15 days to receive the compensation. This goes to show the confidence the platform has in its capabilities.

QuickBooks also helps you comply with labor law posting requirements. You can download PDFs of all your posters before your laminated posters arrive. The best part? The platform provides a 100% compliance guarantee on posting laws and covers fines up to $33,000.

Of course, you get other basic features such as full-service payroll with complete tax filing and auto-payroll for salaried employees. Plus, you also offer health insurance plans, 401(k) plans, and adequate worker’s compensation through QuickBooks itself.

QuickBooks has also tied up with Mineral Inc. and provides access to their HR experts to help you customize job descriptions, employee handbooks, onboarding checklists, and more.

Sometimes, you may forget to process payroll and only remember to do so on the actual pay date. In such cases, QuickBooks’ same-day deposit can be a lifesaver. You just need to process the payroll before 7 AM on the payday, and it will arrive on the same business day.

Another benefit of using QuickBooks is that it doubles up as the best accounting software through seamless integrations. It can track your expenses, manage bills, send estimates to your clients, and whatnot.

You’ll be able to centralize your accounts — the money coming in and the money going out will all be recorded in one place, making it easier for you to track your business’s finances. Thus, it is one of the best payroll software for accountants or organizations that have a single department for HR and accounts.

9. Remote — Best Free Payroll Software with Easy Global Payouts

Remote has the most promising free plan on the list. Along with standard reimbursement and expense management, you also get help onboarding and offboarding employees, managing their hours, and keeping a record of their documents. In short, it’s an all-in-one employee management solution.

Just like Rippling, Remote also focuses on international payrolls. It has a dedicated Global Payroll solution with extensive local tax compliance knowledge that ensures you’re paying the right amount of tax.

You can check all your upcoming payments under the payroll tab with a handy progress bar that tells you where you stand. You can even sort this data based on countries or employees.

Remote helps you plan out your employee payment by showing an estimate along with a breakdown of all costs before the payroll is actually finalized.

This cost is broken down into salary, benefits, incentives, and other expenses that make up an employee’s total compensation. You can use this data to look for areas where you can cut costs to maintain your employee budget.

It also has an employee cost calculator that lets managers calculate mandatory employee expenses in different countries. If you want to hire an employee in the UK but are unaware of mandatory employee contributions, you need to make across healthcare, retirement, unemployment, and other programs.

You can simply access Remote’s calculator, choose the region, and enter the annual salary. Within seconds, Remote will calculate associated costs for you.

What’s more, you can even add multiple countries within the same query, compare the outputs, and even download the results for further processing.

Its snappy mobile app has made expense reimbursement easier. If your employees spend money on the company’s work, say they travel to a different place to meet a client, they can quickly click a picture of the gas and food bill and send it over to you for reimbursement.

If you want, you can use Remote’s image-recognition technology to automatically complete the request.

Your employees can also clock in and out, view their remaining PTOs, and access their payslips anytime with the same app.

10. SurePayroll — Best Payroll Software for Small Businesses

SurePayroll expertise in providing robust payroll services for small businesses. It offers two plans for small businesses — a Full Service plan and a No Tax Filing plan. Sure, the benefits you get here are more or less similar to other services on the list. But a few subtle benefits make your overall experience more pleasant.

For starters, SurePayroll handles state-mandated new hire reporting for you. New hire reporting is a report required to be submitted to Federal agencies within 20 days (sooner in some states) of the organization hiring new employees.

Plus, the full-service plan offers a quick two-day payroll processing, which might not be the fastest in the industry but is well above the average. To help new and small businesses, it offers the Full-Service plan at 50% off for the first four months, along with a 30-day free trial.

Like QuickBooks, SurePayroll also offers a 100% service guarantee, i.e., a guarantee that SurePayroll will file and pay your taxes on time without fail. And if they make a mistake in the process, it will be their responsibility to fix the issue or bear the consequences at their own cost.

This guarantee covers both tax calculation and tax filing. However, unlike QuickBooks, there’s no upper cap on the amount of compensation here — a huge bonus.

SurePayroll also offers auxiliary benefits such as health insurance, workers’ compensation plans, and 401(k) plans. Plus, with its pre-employment screening, it makes sure you’re hiring an employee with a thorough background check, drug screening, skill testing, and behavioral assessments.

It also has the best-in-class customer service. You get live support beyond standard business hours, along with a few extra hours on Saturdays. They ensure that nothing stops your employees from getting paid on time.

Kеy Factors to Considеr Whеn Comparing thе Bеst Payroll Softwarе

When searching for the best payroll software to meet your business’s needs, it’s essential to weigh up several key factors carefully. These factors can significantly influence payroll processes, employee satisfaction, and overall business efficiency.

User-friendliness

Accessible software is easier for HR and finance teams to navigate and use effectively, reducing the learning curve and minimizing the potential for errors, so it’s an important factor for the best online payroll software. It also enhances employee self-service, empowering staff to access their pay information and tax documents.

In a fast-paced business environment, user-friendly payroll software ensures payroll processes can be executed swiftly and accurately, contributing to overall productivity and employee satisfaction while reducing the risk of compliance issues.

Integrations 

Application integrations enable seamless connections with other essential business systems, such as accounting, time and attendance, and HR management. They streamline data sharing and eliminate manual data entry, reducing errors and saving time.

What’s more, they also enhance the software’s overall functionality, providing a more comprehensive and efficient solution for managing various aspects of your business.

Payroll Features

Features such as tax filing services, direct deposits, automation, and comprehensive reporting capabilities can streamline your payroll processes, reduce errors, and ensure compliance with tax and labor regulations.

You should also be able to tailor the software to your business needs, accommodating various pay structures and handling complex calculations. By selecting software with the right features, you can save time, improve accuracy, and make the payroll process more efficient, benefiting both your organization and your employees.

Type of Device

Different types of payroll software cater to various industries, business sizes, and operational requirements. Whether you opt for on-premises, cloud-based, or hybrid payroll software, it should match your company’s scalability, data security, accessibility, and integration demands.

Demos and Free Trials

Demos and trials allow you to test the user interface, and features and functionality, ensuring the product aligns with your business requirements.

This hands-on experience helps you make an informed decision, avoid potential pitfalls, and assess whether the software can seamlessly integrate into your existing payroll processes.

It’s a risk-free way to ensure that the chosen payroll software meets your expectations and contributes to efficient payroll management before making a financial commitment.

Flexible Pricing

Flexibility allows you to select a pricing model that fits your organization’s size and financial constraints, whether a flat rate, per employee, or a tiered structure. It enables you to adapt as your business grows or changes, preventing unexpected costs and optimizing your investment in payroll technology.

This approach ensures you get value for money and can allocate resources efficiently while maintaining control over expenses.

Vendor Reliability 

A reliable vendor with a proven track record will likely provide consistent software updates, timely customer support, and security measures to protect your sensitive payroll data.

Choosing a reputable vendor reduces the risk of software downtime, data breaches, and unexpected disruptions, ensuring your payroll processes run smoothly and securely over time.

It also offers peace of mind, knowing that you can depend on your chosen provider for ongoing assistance and compliance with changing tax and labor regulations.

Security 

Payroll software holds confidential employee information, including Social Security numbers and financial details, making it a prime target for cyber threats. A secure and reliable payroll system employs encryption, access controls, and regular security updates to safeguard this data from breaches and unauthorized access.

Scalability

Your payroll needs will evolve as your company expands, potentially involving more employees, complex pay structures, and additional compliance requirements.

Scalable payroll software can adapt to these changes seamlessly, saving you the hassle of migrating to a new system and ensuring continued efficiency and accuracy in your payroll processes.

It’s a forward-thinking approach that helps you future-proof your payroll operations and maintain flexibility in the evolving business demands.

More Payroll and Employee Management Guides

Now that you’ve got some good resources to manage your employee payroll, here are some other useful HR guides that’ll help you with end-to-end human resource management.

• The Best Performance Management Software Solutions
• The Best Employee Monitoring Software Tools
• The Best Cloud HR Software Solutions
• The Best Applicant Tracking Systems for Small Businesses
• The Best Employer of Record (EOR) Services for HR Outsourcing

Conclusion – What is the Best Payroll Software to Use This Year?

Our list of the best payroll processing software serves as the perfect index for all your payroll needs. Whether you’re a small business with a handful of employees or a large organization with multiple locations — you’ll surely find something to your liking on our list.

We believe Rippling will be an ideal pick for organizations of any size, however. With its 100% error-free guarantee, you can rest assured that there’ll be no mistakes with your pay calculations, and Rippling can even handle pay runs on a global scale.

It also does employee taxes for you and has a dedicated mobile app where employees can view all their data.

What’s more, you can use Rippling’s free demo to get a taste of what the platform looks like and how it works – before signing up for an affordable starting package.

Payroll Softwarе FAQs